A Living Memorial

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Washington D.C. hosts many memorials to past presidents. But only one comes alive with over 2,000 events a year: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Memorial Activities

New Exhibit JFK Creative Portraits

Now Through June 2022

To reflect on the legacy of John F. Kennedy, young artists (ages 14–26) from across the United States were invited to submit an all-original, creative portrait of the Center’s namesake. Come see the two winning portraits along with eight Honorable Mentions, online and in person at the Hall of States and the REACH.

Future Exhibit President John F. Kennedy: Art and Ideals

Coming September 2022

In September 2022, a major permanent exhibit in the massive roof-level Atrium will open as a new destination for patrons and visitors to the memorial. The exhibit will explore Kennedy’s appreciation and promotion of the arts and why the Kennedy Center came to be the living memorial to him and his ideals.

Art Knows No National Boundaries

He was a statesman who recognized that culture and art are the true hallmarks of a flourishing society.

In this televised speech from 1962, President Kennedy eloquently explains the power of art to build “bridges between peoples” reminding us “that the forces that unite are deeper than those that divide."

Who Was JFK?

No one expected him to become president. He had too much stacked against him. His religion. His youth. His background.

But John F. Kennedy never balked in the face of struggle. His unflagging spirit carried him to the White House, and to one of the most iconic presidencies in the history of our nation. This exclusive film tells that story.

Who Was JFK?

No one expected him to become president. He had too much stacked against him. His religion. His youth. His background.

But John F. Kennedy never balked in the face of struggle. His unflagging spirit carried him to the White House, and to one of the most iconic presidencies in the history of our nation. This exclusive film tells that story.

“...ask what you should do for your country.”

These clips demonstrate why President Kennedy is considered one of the finest orators in modern history to reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Witness these iconic moments that have reverberated throughout history.

  • President Kennedy's Full Inaugural Address

  • "Ich Bin Ein Berliner"

  • Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

  • Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You

“We must be bold.”

It was President Kennedy’s boldness that led us to do something humans have considered ever since they walked upright: travel 238,900 miles through the darkness of space to walk on the surface of the moon.

In Houston, Texas, on September 12, 1962, President Kennedy declared, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”

Fewer than seven years later, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong made good on President Kennedy’s promise when he became the first person to set foot on the moon.

Shooting for the Moon

Speech to Congress

“Our desire to live in peace, our desire to be of help.”

At the height of the Cold War, President Kennedy had the vision to found a new organization dedicated to peace: the Peace Corps, a global service organization, staffed by young people. This revolutionary enterprise combined the ideals of service and cultural exchange, and transformed the lives of countless people.

“A great change is at hand.”

For President Kennedy, the battle to grant civil rights to African-Americans wasn’t simply a moral struggle, it was a legal necessity and a constitutional imperative. He used all his political will to create the legislation to end the legal practices of segregation.

After his assassination on November 22, 1963, his successor, President Johnson, secured the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“A great change is at hand.”

For President Kennedy, the battle to grant civil rights to African-Americans wasn’t simply a moral struggle, it was a legal necessity and a constitutional imperative. He used all his political will to create the legislation to end the legal practices of segregation.

After his assassination on November 22, 1963, his successor, President Johnson, secured the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Visit the Memorial
Sites to contemplate JFK at the Kennedy Center

The John F. Kennedy Bust

From the steps of the Opera House one has a commanding view of the Grand Foyer including the eight foot bronze bust of President John F. Kennedy. The 3,000 pound bust, designed and created by American sculptor Robert Berks, reminds us that the nation's premiere performing arts center also stands as a living memorial to our 35th president, John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

Flanking the bust on each side is an interactive exhibit entitled John F. Kennedy, His Life and Legacy. The exhibit provides visitors with a wealth of audiovisual information about Kennedy's career, his accomplishments, and his most memorable speeches.

Engraving:

"I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunties for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well."

President John F. Kennedy, Amherst, Massachusetts, October 26, 1963

Engraving:

"This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor."

President John F. Kennedy, State of the Union Message, January 14, 1963

 

"To further the appreciation of culture among all the people. To increase respect for the creative individual, to widen participation by all the processes and fulfillments of art — this is one of the fascinating challenges of these days."

President John F. Kennedy, "The Arts in America," Look, December 18, 1962

 

Engraving:

"I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty."

President John F. Kennedy, Amherst College, October 26, 1963

"I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit."

President John F. Kennedy, on behalf of the National Cultural Center which would come to bear his name November 29, 1962

Engraving:

"There is a connection, hard to explain logically but easy to feel, between achievement in public life and progress in the arts. The age of Pericles was also the age of Phidias. The age of Lorenzo de Medici was also the age of Leonardo da Vinci, the age of Elizabeth also the age of Shakespeare, and the new frontier for which I campaign in public life, can also be a new frontier for American art."

President John F. Kennedy, in a letter to Miss Theodate Johnson, Publisher, Musical America, September 13, 1960

Engraving:

"I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than the full recognition of the place of the artist."

President John F. Kennedy, Amherst College, October 26, 1963

Engraving:

"Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal."

President John F. Kennedy, Commencement address at American University, June 10, 1963

Inspire through the Arts

The Kennedy Center may operate differently these days, but our arts and education programs are still alive!
Your gift today will allow us to use the arts to inspire others and give hope during this time of uncertainty, and prepare to welcome you back as we all look forward to the future, together.